The following is a list of commonly used hieroglyphs as organized by Sir Alan H. Gardiner in his Egyptian Grammar. The signs are organized into 26 main categories followed by 3 sections that list hieroglyphs by their shape. Choose from any of the links below to guide yourself to a specific category.
Gardiner Number | Hieroglyph | Description of Glyph |
Details |
N1 | Sky | Det. or Ideo. pt “sky,” ḥrt “heaven,” ḥry “above.” | |
N2 | Sky with broken S40 | Det. or Ideo. grḥ “night.” | |
N3 | Var. of N2 | Use as N2. | |
N4 | Sky with rain | Det. or Ideo. šnyt “rain,” i3dt “dew.” | |
N5 | Sun | Ideo. rʿ “sun, Re” hrw “day,” sw “day.” | |
N6 | Sun with uraeus | Det. or ideo in rʿ “sun, Re.” | |
N7 | Combination of N5 + T28 | Det. ẖrt-hrw “daytime.” | |
N8 | Sun with rays | Phono. wbn. Det. or Ideo. 3ḫw “sunshine,” psḏ “shine,” wbn “rise.” | |
N9 | Moon | Phono. psḏ. In psḏt “Ennead.” | |
N10 | Var of N9 | Use as N9. | |
N11 | Crescent moon | Ideo. 3bd “month.” Det. iʿḥ “moon.” | |
N12 | Var. of N11 | Det.iʿḥ “moon.” | |
N13 | Combination of half of N11 and N14 | Ideo. mḏdiwnt “half month festival.” | |
N14 | Star | Phono sb3, dw3. In sb3 “star,” dw3 “morning.” Ideo. wnwt “hour.” | |
N15 | Star encircled | Ideo. in dw3t “netherworld.” | |
N16 | Flat land with grain | Phono. t3. In t3 “land, earth.”Det. in ḏt “eternity.” | |
N17 | Var. of N16 | Use as N16. | |
N18 | Strip of sand | Ideo. in iw “island.” | |
N19 | Two strips of sand | Ideo. in 3ḫt “horizon,” ḥrw-3ḫty “Horakhty.” | |
N20 | Tongue of land | Phono. wḏb. In wḏb “shore.” Det. in ḥ3b-sd “Sed Festival.” | |
N21 | Tongue of land | Ideo. in idb “bank,” idbwy “two banks.” | |
N22 | Tongue of land | Det. in ʿḥt “field,” sḫt “field.” | |
N23 | Canal | Det. in t3 “land,” i3š “boundary.” | |
N24 | Irrigation canal system | Det. or Ideo. in sp3t “nome.” | |
N25 | Mountain rande | Ideo. in ḫ3st “foreign land, hill country.” | |
N26 | Mountain | Phono. ḏw “mountain.” | |
N27 | Sunrise over mountain | Ideo. in 3ḫt “horizon.” | |
N28 | Hill with sun rays | Phono. ḫʿ. In ḫʿ “appear.” | |
N29 | Sandy slope | Phono. q. | |
N30 | Hill with shrubs | Det. or Ideo. in i3t “mound.” | |
N31 | Road bordered by shrubs | Det. and Ideo. in w3t “road.” | |
N32 | Lump of clay, Var. Aa2 and F52. | Det. in sin “clay.” | |
N33 | Grain of sand | Det. in nbw “gold.” | |
N34 | Metal Ingot | Ideo. in bi3, ḥmt “copper.” | |
N35 | Water ripple | Phono. n. | |
N35a | Three ripples | Phono. mw. In mw “water.” | |
N36 | Canal | Phono. mr. In mr “canal.” | |
N37 | Pool | Phono. š. In š “pool.” | |
N38 | Var. of N37 | Use as N37. | |
N39 | Var. of N37 | Use as N37. | |
N40 | Combination of N37 and D54 | Phono. šm. In šm “to go.” | |
N41 | Well with water | Phono. ḥm. In ḥmt “wife.” Det. in bi3 “copper.” | |
N42 | Var. of N41 | Use as N41. |